ITALY SYMPATHETIC TO ARGENTINA'S INTERPOL PROPOSAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 000478 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/BSC - DREW BLAKENEY NEA/IR - SEAN MISKO E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2017 TAGS: IR PGOV PREL FBI PTER KJUS ASEC PRT KFTFN KISL, KIRF, IT SUBJECT: ITALY SYMPATHETIC TO ARGENTINA'S INTERPOL PROPOSAL REF: STATE 29082 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Anna M. Borg, for reasons 1.4 (b ) and (d) (C) 1. After inter-agency coordination at Post on best way to handle Reftel request, Labor Counselor and Poloff delivered demarche March 9 to Guido Lenzi, Diplomatic Adviser to the Minister of the Interior. The Labor Counselor outlined the USG position and encouraged Italy to consider the case on its merits. Lenzi said the last time he spoke with Rodolfo Ronconi, Italy's representative on the Interpol Executive Committee (EC),it appeared that "everything was in order" and there were no outstanding concerns. That said, Lenzi offered to take our views directly to the Minister and would report back to the Embassy any GOI reaction. Moreover, Lenzi said he believed the Argentines had already raised this issue with the GOI. (C) 2. Also March 9, poloffs met with Claudio Javier Rozencwaig and Marina Mantecon Fumado, Political Counselor and Political Officer, respectively, from the Argentine Embassy in Rome. Rozencwaig thanked poloffs for their interest in the case and thanked the USG for trying to help the GOA on an issue that involved a serious terrorist act and was very sensitive for the GOA, but often forgotten by the outside world. (C) 3. Rozencwaig explained that the issue of Argentina's Red Notices was not explicitly on the agenda for Interpol's EC meeting next week. Nevertheless, the issue of managing Red Notices generally was, and he expected that the Argentine judge's petition would be discussed. Rozencwaig added he had heard that some Executive Committee members thought Argentina's petition was "well-argued," so he was personally optimistic. (C) 4. Rozencwaig noted that the Argentine Embassy has reached out to Italian U/S for Latin America Donato Di Santo at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and spoken directly with Ronconi. Rozencwaig said Italian interlocutors noted the close and historic ties between their two countries and intimated that these factors would play a major role in Italy's decision within the EC. Rozencwaig acknowledged, however, that he was less confident about other members of the EC, such as Algeria and Morocco. SPOGLI